T-34

T-34
T-34-85 medium tank
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1940–present
Used by	Soviet Union and 39 others
Wars	World War II Korean War East German uprising of 1953 Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Vietnam War Suez Crisis Bay of Pigs Invasion North Yemen Civil War Six-Day War Yom Kippur War 1974 Cypriot coup d'état Turkish invasion of Cyprus Ethiopian Civil War Angolan Civil War Ogaden War Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea Sino-Vietnamese War Yemenite War of 1979 Soviet–Afghan War Iran-Iraq War Yugoslav Wars Syrian Civil War Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)
Production history
Designer	KhMDB
Designed	1937–1940
Unit cost	3,094–9,000 Man hours[1] 130,000–429,000 Rbls[2]
Produced	1940–1946 (USSR), 1951–1955 (Poland), 1951–1958 (Czechoslovakia)
No. built	84,070[3] 35,120 T-34[3] 48,950 T-34-85[3]
Variants	See T-34 variants
Specifications (T-34 Model 1941[7])
Mass	26.5 tonnes (29.2 short tons; 26.1 long tons) 31 tonnes (34 short tons; 31 long tons) (T-34-85)
Length	6.68 m (21 ft 11 in)
Width	3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
Height	2.46 m (8 ft 1 in)
Crew	4 (T-34)
Armour	Hull front 47 mm /60° (upper part)[4] 45 mm (1.8")/60° (lower part), Hull side 40 mm[5]/41°(upper part), Hull rear 45 mm, Hull top 20 mm, Hull bottom 15 mm; Turret front 60 mm (round), Turret side 52 mm/30°, Turret rear 30 mm, Turret top 16 mm [verification needed]
Main armament	76.2 mm (3.00 in) F-34 tank gun
Secondary armament	2 × 7.62 mm (0.3 in) DT machine guns
Engine	Model V-2-34 38.8 L V12 Diesel engine 500 hp (370 kW)
Power/weight	18.9 hp (14 kW) / tonne (T-34)
Suspension	Christie
Ground clearance	0.4 m (16 in)
Operational range	Road: 330 km (210 mi) Cross-country: 200 km (120 mi) [a][6]
Maximum speed	53 km/h (33 mph)

The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries,^[8] and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The T-34 had a profound effect on the conflict on the Eastern Front, and had a long-lasting impact on tank design. The tank was praised by multiple German generals when encountered during Operation Barbarossa, although its armour and armament were surpassed later in the war. Its main strength was its cost and production time, meaning that German panzer forces would often fight against Soviet tank forces several times their own size. The T-34 was also a critical part of the mechanized divisions that formed the backbone of the deep battle strategy.

The T-34 was the mainstay of the Soviet Red Army armoured forces throughout the war. Its general specifications remained nearly unchanged until early 1944, when it received a firepower upgrade with the introduction of the greatly improved T-34-85 variant. Its production method was continuously refined and rationalized to meet the needs of the Eastern Front, making the T-34 quicker and cheaper to produce. The Soviets ultimately built over 80,000 T-34s of all variants, allowing steadily greater numbers to be fielded despite the loss of tens of thousands in combat against the German Wehrmacht.^[9]

Replacing many light and medium tanks in Red Army service, it was the most-produced tank of the war, as well as the second most-produced tank of all time (after its successor, the T-54/T-55 series).^[10] With 44,900 lost during the war, it also suffered the most tank losses ever.^[11] Its development led directly to the T-44, then the T-54 and T-55 series of tanks, which in turn evolved into the later T-62, that form the armoured core of many modern armies. T-34 variants were widely exported after World War II, and as recently as 2023 more than 80 were still in service.^[12]

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